Royal Commission's Shocker: Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dato Seri Nazri Aziz has disclosed that the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the death of Teoh Beng Hock found the political aide had committed suicide.

Though the finding do not divert from the official line of explanation by the authorities into the tragedy that occurred in mid-2009, Nazri said the RCI had determined the suicide was the result of continuous and aggressive questioning by officials of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Three MACC officers were found to have continuously used interrogation tactics that were "agresif dan tidak wajar" (aggressive and inappropriate) and therefore in violation of the regulations, Nazri told a press conference in Parliament building in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

"The MACC had conducted investigations following information that a Selangor executive councillor and assemblyperson was involved in false allocation claims for his own party interest.

"Teoh was supposed to be the key witness for MACC which investigated the allegation involving the DAP executive councillor.

"MACC's investigation mounted pressure on Teoh to make a confession as evidence," said Nazri. However, Nazri added, the MACC officials did not have the intention of killing then aide to Selangor exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah.

"He was felt pressured and stressed as a result of continuous interrogation techniques," said Nazri.

Nevertheless, said Nazri, the government assures that "appropriate action will be taken against those officers involved who went against MACC procedure based on the rules and laws already in place".

The commissioners' conclusion that Teoh had committed suicide was strengthened by psychiatric findings that the latter was "weak in character."

This was based on the testimony of forensic psychiatrist Paul Edward Mullen, who was engaged by the Bar Council. Mullen had testified that he believed Teoh killed himself based on Teoh's character, which had changed from a low-risk group (with the potential for suicide) to the high-risk group, as a result of aggressive and continuous interrogation by MACC officers.

"Having considered all the evidence in its entirety, we found that Teoh was driven to commit suicide by the aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation to which he was subjected by certain officers of the MACC who were involved in the ongoing operation by the Selangor MACC on the night of the 15 and into the morning of the 16," reads the report.

Commissioners were unanimous in their decision

Nazri said the commissioners, who were unanimous in their decision, have recommended that MACC's interrogation procedures be reviewed. He added that the government is saddened by the incident that had taken Teoh's life and gave a commitment that appropriate action will be taken against the officers who had flaunted the procedures.

He also urged interested parties, including Teoh's family, to put an end to the "episode" with the report out in public. Besides concluding the circumstances surrounding Teoh's death, the RCI panel was also entrusted to look into MACC's interrogation procedures.

It was recommended that the anti-graft authority review its entrance qualifications, upgrade infrastructure and public facilities and revamp its training schemes.

The report said: "But what is most saddening and regrettable is that the operation that the Selangor MACC embarked upon led to the death of Teoh, a promising young man in the prime of life who had everything to look forward to."

"His family was robbed of a son and brother, his fiancee of a husband and his then unborn child of a father. We can feel the pain and anguish that they must have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of the callous machinations and attitudes of the MACC officers who were involved in the operation.

"We express our heartfelt sympathies on the loss that the family of Teoh and his fiancee and son have had to bear and continue to bear. We can only hope that time will assuage their pain."

Nazri acceded that the report has shown "many weaknesses" in MACC's procedures and vowed that the government is committed to reviewing its techniques.

Nazri said the commissioners have recommended that MACC's interrogation procedures be reviewed. On June 25, the five-member RCI panel submitted its 124-page report to the Agong after collecting evidence from February 14 and ending its proceedings on May 18.

Teoh was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth floor service corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned overnight at the Selangor MACC headquarters at its 14th floor.

Teoh was questioned as a witness on alleged irregularities into the disbursement of Selangor government funds by his employer, Seri Kembangan assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah. Ean Yong was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.

A coroner's inquest into Teoh's death had returned an open verdict, leading the government to set up the RCI to look into the circumstances of his death, as well as to evaluate MACC's interrogation procedures.

The RCI proceedings, which stretched over a period of four months, heard testimonies from 70 witnesses, and 19,200 notes of proceedings were recorded.

The RCI report, priced at RM45, will be available at the legal affairs department of the Prime Minister's Office from 10am tomorrow (July 22).

This evening, more than 600 people turned up for the Ops Scorpene Fund Raising Dinner that was held at the Sunshine Square Banquet Hall. Speakers of the evening were Cynthia Gabriel (Suaram), William Bourdon, Tian Chua, Lim Kit Siang and Mohamad Sabu (PAS). Judging by the strong support for the event this evening, more and more Malaysians are not only more politically conscious and seeking truth and justice, but they are also impatient to see the end of corruption in our country!

Cynthia Gabriel of Suaram announced that donations and ticket sales in Penang surpassed the 100k target that they had set. That for Kuala Lumpur was higher by 50k. However, much more is needed to finance the court case as William Bourdon had informed her that the translation fees for one document was about 20 000 Euros. As such, the fundraising effort is ongoing and not confined to the dinners alone.

The speaker of the evening, William Bourdon, is a lawyer based in Paris who works withSherpa, a non-profit organisation. Bourdon specialises in the defense of human rights and victims of crimes against humanity. It was to be expected that he could not reveal anything new due to the ongoing court case. Most sincerely, he confessed that when he took on the case, he was initially filled with pessimistic thoughts but throughout the period, he acknowledged that there has been progress in the case and believed that the day will come when we will have access to truth and justice. Most emphatically, he reiterated the necessity of completely obliterating corruption - which if left unchecked, leads to impunity. He ended his speech with the following words, "There is no democracy if there is no eradication of corruption."

Tian Chua gave a detailed rundown of the Scorpene submarine issue and raised many pertinent questions including:

1. Why wasn't coordination and training of staff included in the purchase of the submarines?

2. How was the 114 million Euros spent?

3. Does Perimekar Sdn Bhd pay tax?

4. Why didn't the cost of the submarines come with provision of spare parts and rescue services?

5. He disclosed a staggering amount for both rescue services and maintenance of the two submarines just so they can sail in our waters for 136 days a year. And to think that such a huge amount can be spent on that whilst the government cuts subsidies and tells us to tighten our belts, take less sugar and save electricity!

6. The submarines also did not come with torpedoes and missiles so the government has to pay extra. On 22 June 2010, the Defence Minister revealed that the government has paid Euro 219.265million (about RM890 million) for 40 units of Exocet SM39 missile and 30 units Black Shark torpedo - to be delivered by 2013.

So this means we have two submarines which we know at one point in time could not dive, and which came without spare parts, maintenance services and sans missiles and torpedoes until 2013.

In the mean time, we have to pray that no one attacks us before 2013 for if so, what use are the submarines which were purportedly purchased to boost our nation's defense?

7. Incidentally, what is the progress like for the infrastructure for the submarine base in Sabah?

8. Tian Chua highlighted that what Malaysia really needs include speedboats to deter and to arrest would-be smugglers/illegal immigrants, a good patrol system to guard our waters, higher salaries for our police and soldiers and most of all a better social system so that our people do not turn to crime.

Mohamad Sabu of PAS created a furore when he entered the banquet hall in his wheelchair. Clearly, he was a personality much loved by the people. With a sardonic expression, he informed the audience that he had been accused of pretending to be injured during the Bersih rally. Humbly, he took out his X-ray slides that showed his injury after which he shared candidly about his operation.

Popularly known as Mat Sabu, he gave the crowd a battle cry and his exact words which I copied copiously:

Yes, we all have to do our part to increase awareness not just in the urban areas but also in rural areas where many are still unconverted.

The final speaker of the evening was Lim Kit Siang who looked pretty cool in his shades as he sauntered to the pulpit to speak. With a flourish, he took off his dark glasses and started to address the crowd. It has been some time since I last saw him and I could not help but notice the bags under his eyes, the wrinkled face. Contrastingly, his voice was just as crisp as the time I heard him speak decades ago - when I resolved even as a young girl to always vote for the Opposition. And now, that fire in him still burns brightly and the crowd was agog to hear him express indignation over the TBH RCI. He warmed the hearts of those in the crowd when he declared that Bersih 2.0 is the real 1Malaysia to moot for a clean Malaysia, free of corruption!

The underlying message of the evening was crystal clear. Whilst over 600 had gathered to raise funds for Ops Scorpene, beyond the submarine issue is the pressing need for a new Malaysia - one that upholds standards of accountability, transparency and justice. The crooks cannot keep strutting around in their arrogance and think they can get away with it. Yes, the government has to have a full audit and enquiry into this issue to account for every single cent that has been spent on it - which is your money, my money - OUR MONEY!!!

It is clear that people power is rising and we want a government that is free of any form of corruption! Any expenditure must be made solely and wholly for the rakyat and not for any other persons/reason. Corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. Now is the time for us to ensure our government returns to democratic ideals for the people. Vote wisely in the next election to make that a REALITY!

The Royal Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide, a finding for his family, friends and sympathisers to contest. However, they were the ones who asked the government to set up the RCI after casting doubt over the impartiality of the court.

And what's next? Another RCI or a tribunal ? An international tribunal, perhaps, until their claim that TBH was murdered is substantiated?

Doubts remain as doubts. Minister at PM Office Nazri Aziz said the three MACC officers who were in-charge of interrogating TBH will be fully-investigated. Why? They are now accused of applying 'grilling tactis' on the victim (here).

So, could it be depression prompted TBH to jump off from the building when he just couldn't take it anymore?

"We will not delay to act against the officers but we also cannot `hang' them straightaway. Proper procedure will have to take place and it starts with investigating the incident and collecting evidence.

"Investigation papers must be opened and be submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers for further action. That is the procedure and procedures need to be followed," Nazri said.

The RCI in an unanimous decision, had found that Teoh had been driven to commit suicide by "aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous" interrogation by three MACC officers. The three named were Selangor MACC deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim, and his officers Mohamad Anuar Ismail and Ashraf Mohd Yunus.

The 30-year-old political secretary to Ean Yong Hian Wah was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, Selangor, after giving a statement at the Selangor MACC office on the 14th floor of the same building.

Of course the RCI's decision should be respected and accepted but for TBH family, it will never end. To them, TBH was murdered and Nazri's statement was adding some 'points' to them. Was TBH tortured or psycho-ed during investigation? Only TBH and God know the answer.

And what would become of the three officers if they are found guilty of using irrelevant methods in conducting the investigation? Jail? I think even a jail sentence would not suffice to TBH family and friends. Unless its going to be a death sentence!

So, the findings by the RCI will still carry no face value to many, especially the Opposition politicians who have been riding on the issue over the last two years for their extra mileage. What's next?

I had wanted to visit Zainab's daughter, Kakak, at the hospital this morning but simply couldn't get a parking space. Even my usual parking area where others don't usually want to park (because it's quite far to walk to the hospital), were full this morning.

I called Zainab, this time she answered. Although earlier she mentioned that Kakak may need to be operated for suspected appendix, this time Zainab told me that the girl need not go through any operation after all. I guess it wasn't her appendix that gave her problems. But she still needed to stay in the ward for further tests, especially since the girl does have kidney problems.

Since I couldn't get a proper parking space, I decided to cancel my plan to visit Kakak and change to plan B to visit Lin instead. Somebody had given some cash through me to be given to Lin, for her to spend for Ramadhan/Syawal, so I thought I might as well visit her today. There were some photos (of our recent Family Day) that I needed to pass to her as well. So I called Lin, just to be sure she's home. I wouldn't want to go all the way to her house only to find out that she was in Ipoh for her hospital appointment!!

Lin said she was at home and was not planning to go anywhere, so I told her I'd be coming. Within half an hour, I was at her house. Lin was concentrating on her sewing and didn't realise my presence until I got to right in front of the door. Her 14 year old daughter was ironing her school uniform.

Education-wise, Lin's daughters seemed to be doing quite well. Her 1st & 3rd daughter are already working, while her second daughter has to study a little bit longer since she's taking up medicine overseas. Lin's 4th, her son, had never done well in school, and even after SPM he was doing one thing after another. One moment he'd say he wanted to work, next moment he'd say he wanted to take up whatever courses with some friends. Latest, he had gone up north to take up a short course, and according to him, right after the 3 months course, he'd be offered a job. His mother or sisters couldn't ask much, he wouldn't say much, but it's something to do with shipping, or so he said.

Lin's 5th child, a 16 year old boy, isn't doing too well in school either. Joining a vocational class, his last exam results slip showed a number of subjects which he got G's (for gagal). The only subject he scored an A was "kimpalan" (welding), the one and only subject that he's interested in. For other subjects which he'd need to sit down and study, he failed miserably. Last year, for his PMR, I offered Lin to pay for his tuition (he is under our Sponsorship Program), but he himself refused. No point paying for his tuition if he wasn't going to attend. He doesn't seem interested to study. He is even contemplating to do part time jobs during school holidays so he'd have some money to get a motorcycle license.

Lin's youngest daughter is an average student in school. Last year she turned out one of the tops in her class, and so this year she was transferred to what Lin calls "kelas budak pandai". This year since she's sharing a class with better students, she got to the lower bottom of the class.

Right now, financially I'm not too worried about Lin's family. With her 2 girls already working (although "baru nak hidup" as people say), and I know that the girls are the responsible type, at least there is always something in the kitchen for them to eat. My main concern now is her sons, especially her 16 year old who doesn't seem to be bothered about his studies. He already likes to join his friends go fishing etc instead of studying or doing his homework at home.

I just hope the 2 boys will not end up like their father.

Which reminds me… what's the latest news about their father, Mr Darling? What about the case reported by his wife (now ex-wife) for molesting his step-daughter? Well, since her 14 year old daughter was there, I didn't want to ask Lin about Mr D. Didn't want to be discussing Mr D's molest case in front of any of their children, especially the younger ones. Although the eldest daughter despises the father, Lin always reminded them that good or bad, he's still their father.

Calling it the "final straw which broke the camel's back," the report claimed that the session must have wrecked the 30-year-old political aide mentally and physically.

The 124-page report also fingered three Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers as the main culprits and assigned them nicknames. The report was released by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz today.

In stating that Teoh had to deal with "interrogation heavyweights", the RCI labelled Selangor MACC deputy director Hishammuddin Hashim as the "arrogant leader (who would have no qualms in lying as long as the ends were achieved, regardless of the means employed)".

Whereas his subordinates Arman Alies – "who would manipulate his witness to obtain evidence" – and Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus – "who was Machiavellian in his method to secure evidence" – were termed as the "bully" and "abuser" respectively.

"Having considered all the evidence in its entirety, we found that Teoh was driven to commit suicide by the aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation to which he was subjected by certain officers of the MACC who were involved in the ongoing operation by the Selangor MACC on the night of July 15, 2009 and into the morning of July 16," read the report.

The RCI theorised that Hishamuddin's stubbornness and his need to overcome his dissappointment at the negative results obtained from previous witnesses would have spurred him to resort to a more personal and aggressive interrogation of Teoh since the latter was a vital link to state exco Ean Yong Hian Wah, and "if anything was to stick, it would have been through Teoh".

In view of this, the commissioners felt that Teoh was treated more like a suspect than a witness.

As for the "fourth interrogation", the commissioners believed that it involved Hishammuddin, Ashraf and the case's investigating officer, Mohd Anuar Ismail.

"The acts committed by these three persons were most probably in the form of another round of intensive interrogation of Teoh to coerce him into making a statement that it was Ean Yong who directed him to commit unlawful acts in handling the allocation.

"This session must have been very taxing on Teoh, both physically and mentally. He had been deprived of sleep throughout the night and into the morning and had to endure persistent, aggressive and unscrupulous questioning. His physical condition, as described by Ashraf when fetching him the glass of water, was that Teoh had moved to sit in an upright position, very slowly.

"This is the fourth interrogation session to our minds (and) must have been the final straw that broke the camel's back."

The RCI also stated that Anuar was named because the investigating officer's alibi had been proven to be false.

"As disclosed during the inquiry, hardly anyone saw him sleeping at the place he claimed to be at between the hours after 3.30am and 7am on July 16. Further, Anuar lied about the role he had played in order to cover up for Hishammudin. And on top of these factors, he was a trusted senior officer of Hishammudin who was prepared to sacrifice himself for Hishammudin."

In conclusion, the RCI said: "By the time the fourth or final stage of the interrogation was over, Teoh would have been almost a mental and physical wreck."

Below are some of the other points in the report:Blue wall of silence

The RCI stated that the conferment of extensive powers on MACC without checks and balances would inevitably result in those powers being abused, and such abuse becomes difficult to prove as the only witnesses would be those officers whose conduct was being probed.

"The investigation into this will bring in its wake the inherent and harsh realities of meeting 'a blue wall of silence' based on brotherhood ties among those officers. The characteristics of this 'blue wall of silence' came amply into play in the present case as evidenced by untruths spouted by MACC officers to cover-up the nefarious activities that took place on July 15 and 16.

"This clinging to brotherhood ties by those officers has resulted in our facing extreme difficulties in gathering evidence to arrive at the truth."

First "calming therapy"The RCI stated that Teoh was first subjected to a "calming therapy" designed by investigating officer Anuar.

"Instead of leaving him alone to ease his nerves as a reasonable man would leave him to do, Teoh was verbally assaulted by a pack of officers numbering six to seven at one time or other during this period who were told to 'chat' with him 'to calm him down'. Repeated questions from them of his background were asked. This could have been easily secured by (another officer Mohd) Azhar (Abang Mentaril) who was officially told by Anuar to carry out this task."

The RCI said that Anuar had pleaded ignorance to this "inhumane treatement" and ruled that it was done with one objective – to break down Teoh's resistance and force him to say what they wanted.

The commissioners postulated that this intimidating technique would have had a profound effect on the victim.

Second interrogation by the 'bully' and 'abuser'

The RCI concluded that a second "interview" of Teoh was more like an inquisition and both officers Arman and Ashraf had acted the role of inquisitors.

The commissioners also questioned why both had instilled doubts and fears into Teoh by declaring that he might have gone against a treasury directive which states that three tenders must be called before a contract could be awarded. This was not true as Ean Yong had the powers to directly award any contractor projects under RM20,000.

"(If they had known this), then they were intentionally exploiting Teoh's lack of knowledge or ignorance with false information deliberately aimed at confusing him. This was deplorable and must have caused severe anxiety to Teoh…"

The RCI also said that extracting Teoh's email password would have caused him anxiety and was a "gross violation of a person's rights".

Threats of physical harmThe RCI opined that both Arman and Ashraf were specially selected by Hishamuddin – "though disguised as instructions coming from (Selangor MACC's head of investigations) Hairul Ilham Hamzah" – to carry out the interrogation.

However, the RCI concluded that no physical violence was applied on Teoh but threats of physical harm were most probably used by Arman and Ashraf when interrogating him.

Third interrogationThe RCI was "puzzled" that Teoh was interrogated for a third time by officer Mohd Nadzri Ibrahim, who spent more than two hours grilling him despite Teoh having already been questioned by Arman and Ashraf.

The commisioners suggested that either "Arman or Ashraf had not been asking questions relating to the documents, thus requiring Nadzri to start afresh" or "Nadzri deliberately prolonged this process to torture Teoh mentally and disorientate him to agree to turn against his boss out of despair."

The RCI said the repeated questioning contravened Section 30 of the MACC Act on taking statements.

"We are of the view that what Anuar did by sending in a group of interrogators under the pretence of calming Teoh, followed by Arman and Ashraf's interrogation or inquisition of Teoh was against the law. Such unlawful intimidatory tactics would have grave consequences upon his mind and would have been a culminating factor that drove him to suicide."

The RCI concluded that Teoh was "utterly frustrated and disappointed and angry" and due to the repeated interrogations and a rude remark from Nadzri, he would have wanted to "escape" from it all.

Teoh was never released from custodyThe RCI concluded that Teoh was never released and was still detained by Selangor MACC as other witnesses were also not allowed to go home and "his attendence was practically effected by force although claimed otherwise and therefore the panel cannot percieve Teoh would have wanted to stay a minute longer if he was free".

Hishamuddin – the arrogant leadercThe RCI found that the deputy director was actively involved in the entire investigation of Teoh. He was described as a workaholic, whose presence struck fear in his subordinates.

"We found him to be arrogant, given to falsehoods, untruthful and uncompromising in his stand. His falsehoods, particularly of his non-active involvement in the entire operation at the material time, were exposed from contradictory statements he made before us."

"We found Pornthip's view to be extremely speculative and therefore unacceptable. In our opinion, this light pink stain on the neck was more certainly due to post-mortem staining. It could not have been the result of a bruise as claimed by Pornthip since it was not seen by Dr Prashant (Naresh Samberker, from University Malaya Medical Centre) and Dr Khairul (Azman Ibrahim from Klang Hospital)."

The commissioners said their view was strengthened by the MACC-hired UK pathologist Dr Peter Vanezis' statement that if Teoh was stranggled prior to death, there would have been red spots in his eyes.

Suicide note not consideredDue to the various shortcomings in an expert verifying the authenticity of the so-called suicide note written by Teoh as well as the undue delay in tendering the note, the RCI had attached no weight to the note in the deliberation of the case.

DAP's modus operandi

Meanwhile, the RCI also found it odd that DAP reimbursed contractors and suppliers

"We find this (DAP paying advances for state projects) rather odd when the parties involved in this process were unable to exclude political parties from involvement in government projects… A political party should not be involed in assisting financially in such activities. Otherwise it will attract accusations, as it did in this case, that such fund or part of it was channeled back to the political party.

"We are unable to comprehend here as to why a contractor or an agent undertaking to stage a programme or to carry out a small project required the financial assistance of a political party to tide him over for the period while awaiting payment from the district office.."

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Selangor political aide Teoh Beng Hock was not murdered but had committed suicide due to the aggressive interrogation by three Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers.

This was the conclusion of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) tasked with investigating Teoh's cause of death.

Revealing this in Parliament today, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said that based on the report, action would be taken against the MACC officers for not following procedure.

"It was found that he was not killed. But he was burdened and pressured by the interrogation, coupled with Teoh being a weak-willed person which triggered him to commit suicide," he said.

Nazri said the RCI also found that MACC officers had no intention or reason to kill Teoh but only wanted to force a confession from him as a witness in their investigations into the alleged abuse of state allocations by DAP state assemblymen in Selangor.

"And his suicide is supported by forensic psychiatrist Dr Paul Mullen, who was engaged by the Bar Council," he added.

Nazri said that Mullen noted that Teoh's risk of committing suicide soared drastically due to the long hours of aggressive interrogation.

"I hope no one will politicise the matter and twist the facts as a respect for the RCI findings as well as for the family. I hope everyone, including the family, will bring this episode to a closure," added the minister, who also expressed the government's regret over Teoh's death.

Asked if the government would tender a formal apology to Teoh's family, Nazri said he could not commit to anything as today's press conference was only based on the RCI findings.

"The Cabinet only discussed on making the RCI findings public," he added.

Recommendations will be implemented

As for the three MACC officers, Nazri said the RCI found that they had breached procedure with their improper interrogation techniques.

In view of this, he said, the RCI made several recommendations as to how MACC could improve its procedures.

Among the recommendations was for MACC to reassess its officers' entry requirements and training; improve its office infrastructure, and to re-study all MACC investigative procedure and improve them.

"The government guarantees that action will be taken against the three officers and all recommendations made will be followed," said Nazri, who added that the government was otherwise confident of MACC's integrity.

"But we have to open an investigation on the officers to follow procedure. We can't just hang them," he said, adding that their names were mentioned in the report.

The RCI, which was headed by Federal Court Judge James Foong, had reached its conclusion unanimously.

Its proceedings which began in February this year, ended after five months which saw the commission taking testimonies from some 70 witnesses, including MACC and police officers and other forensic experts.

The 124-page report was then was submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin on June 22. A copy was also given to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Nazri was also asked what would happen if certain quarters rejected the findings and called for a judicial review. "It's a free country, anything the people want, we'll look into it," he replied.

The report would be made available at the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department from 10am tomorrow at the price of RM45 per copy.

"I don't believe he committed suicide. The RCI proves that MACC abused its powers by using aggressive methods while questioning.

"MACC should be held responsible for Teoh's death," he told FMT.

Teoh's family together with their lawyers Karpal Singh and his son Gobind, would be holding a press conference at 4.30pm.

The pertinent question now is whether the errant MACC officers would face criminal charges, given that their actions contributed to Teoh's death, or would it merely be administrative action.

In another development, the MACC said it will follow up with all recommendations made by the RCI. The commission added it has not received a copy of the report from the RCI and will be purchasing it tomorrow.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry ruled that political aide Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide due to the aggressive questioning by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials.

"Having considered all the evidence in its entirety, we found that Teoh was driven to commit suicide by the aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation to which he was subjected by certain officers of the MACC who were involved in the ongoing operation by the Selangor MACC on the night of the July 15 (2009) into the morning of the 16th," the report said.

The 124-page report said that Teoh's frame of mind after hours of interrogation would have been "almost a mental and physical wreck" and the only way out was by "jumping out of the window".

"By the fourth or final stage of the interrogation was over, TBH would have been almost a mental and physical wreck. When (Selangor MACC officer) Ashraf (Mohd Yunos) fetched him a glass of water, Teoh was said to have sat up very slowly.

"These intense stages of interrogation must have created serious doubts in Teoh's mind as regards his actions in relation to his duties as (Selangor exco) Ean's (Yong Hian Wah) political secretary.

"Signing his name but affixing Ean's seal, the absence of at least three quotations before awarding of a project or programme, the alleged kickbacks to the DAP, the direct awards of projects and fixing prices to goods required for projects also weighed heavily on his mind," the report stated.

The report stated other contributing factors which caused Teoh to be in an imbalance state of mind were sleep deprivation, an uncomfortable and unfamiliar environment as well as being held in custody for a long time. CLICK HERE for more.

Another article which extracted the conclusion of the RCI mentioned the "blue wall of silence" which "came amply into play in the present caseas evidenced by the untruths spouted by the MACC officers to cover up the nefarious activities that took place on the 15th and the 16th. This clinging to brotherhood ties by those officers has resulted in our facing extreme difficulties in gathering evidence to arrive at the truth."

Such statements are certainly most worrying and cast aspersions in our mind about that institution.

This evening, I just want to focus on two words - AGGRESSIVE INTERROGATION.

Was there a necessity for the officers in charge to use such questioning methods over a pittance of 2400RM? Consider the sequence of events as outlined by Wikipedia:

MACC officials claimed that the interrogation had lasted for about 9 hours. According to the MACC also, Teoh was freed at 3.45am—however without proper explanation, his possessions, including his mobile phone, remained in MACC custody. MACC officials also claimed that Teoh asked to stay the night at the MACC office, and was claimed to be last seen alive around 6am. Teoh was found dead at 1.30pm later in the day. The investigation had been into allegations that Ean Yong had paid RM2,400 for flags to be used in Merdeka Day celebrations, but not taken delivery of the flags. Teoh's colleagues who had also been questioned claimed that they were put under pressure from MACC officers, including being denied access to legal counsel and food or drink. Teoh's mobile phone was still in the possession of MACC officials when he was found dead at 1.30pm despite the MACC's claims that Teoh was released at 3.45am. The mobile phone was later handed to the police for investigation.

As far as I can remember, there was no reference or statement about aggressive interrogation that was used on TBH prior to this report being disclosed to public.

I am in no position to comment on the case. However, to put things in perspective, I wish to highlight certain salient points.

1. This pdf filegives you background information on The Origins of Aggressive Interrogation Techniques. Read it. I am dead sure it will shock you. Perhaps it might give us an idea of how prisoners in detention are treated.

The point that I want to make is this - How aggressive was that interrogation? If rules were broken, what action will be taken to those crossed the line?

Realistically, that there can be types of ill treatment during captivity which do not involve physical pain (for e.g. psychological manipulation, deprivation, humiliation and forced stress positions) and these may also result in as much mental distress and traumatic stress as physical torture.

being subjected to extreme cold that induces hypothermia, and the exploitation of phobias.

A few questions:

1. WHY DIDN'T THE OFFICERS DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN RIGHT AND IMMORAL ACTION? IS it right then to question someone over such a small amount till the victim can be driven to take his own life, especially on the eve of his wedding? Since this has been disclosed, what will happen to the people who did the questioning?

2. "The report stated other contributing factors which caused Teoh to be in an imbalance state of mind were sleep deprivation, an uncomfortable and unfamiliar environment as well as being held in custody for a long time."

Fine. But don't forget that following the discovery of TBH's body, the MACC officials claimed that Teoh asked to stay the night at the MACC office. Is that consistent?

3. On May 30, 2005, Steven G. Bradbury who was then the Justice Department's principal deputy assistant attorney general, wrote a memo to CIA General Counsel John Rizzo: "It is difficult to quantify with confidence and precision the effectiveness of the program." In the face of such inherent doubt, the program should be scrapped, as the moral, legal, and international diplomatic costs would have to be outweighed by crystal clear signals of the program's effectiveness. If such a high ranking official can speak so strongly against aggressive interrogation, one wonders why such practices are being carried out in our own backyard!

4. The report said RCI made recommendations "to improve and rebuild the MACC as a well-respected institution. We have every confidence that the MACC will rise to the challenge and will become a shining example of a law-enforcement agency to be emulated by others in the world." Hopefully, these recommendations will be made known to us after which, the world can truly be the judge to see if indeed it is a 'shining example of a law-agency to be emulated by others in the world.'

5. Finally, how aggressive was the aggressive interrogation? Did they tell the RCI? What about "blue wall of silence" which "came amply into play in the present case as evidenced by the untruths spouted by the MACC officers to cover up the nefarious activities that took place on the 15th and the 16th? The RCI already acknowledged "extreme difficulties in gathering evidence to arrive at the truth."

And one wonders - is this the truth? Or is it somewhere out there in the tradition of Mulder and Scully?

The RCI said that they will leave it to the relevant authorities to take the necessary action.And those authorities owe it to Malaysians to tell us WHAT ACTION they will take. Will they act? That remains to be seen.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of TBH. I cannot believe that this is the climax of all efforts to seek justice for TBH. May Teoh Beng Hock rest in peace and may God bless his family, especially his wife and son.